Detailed
Description |
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Italian Torah wrapper made from a purple silk and beige lace. There is embroidered handwork and ribbons at the end for tying the binder. This binder varies from those made in Ashkenaz as it has neither text nor illustrations. Its beauty lies in its simplicity and in the linen handwork. This is representative of the Sephardic style of Torah wrappers which are embellished with embroidered floral motifs. These widely distributed embroidery motifs can be attributed to the printing of pattern books late in the 15th and 16th centuries. Motifs such as the repeated patters of branches, oak leaves, and grape clusters are purely decorative and have no symbolic value.
The Torah binder is used, after the Torah reading. Its purpose is to bind the Torah scroll, which is rolled together on its azei hayyim and kept tight by the wrapper which is usually a simple, long, wide ribbon. |
